Alternative medicine approaches to the treatment of a variety of physical and mental conditions have been the subject of substantial investigation and interest. See: Journal of the American Medical Association (1998), 280 (18). Nontraditional techniques in the management of pain have ranged from classic acupuncture to the electrical stimulation of tissue. In the latter regard, the efficacy of electrical stimulation from skin surface attached electrodes have been the subject of a substantial amount of investigation. Referred to generally as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), typically a relatively low level of current, for example, in the milliamp range which is manifested as a squarewave is introduced to some select region of the peripheral nervous system for a prescribed treatment interval. The frequency of this squarewave signal is relatively low, ranging generally from a few Hertz to about 100 Hertz and patient response to the application of such low frequency currents at the skin has been described as an unpleasant experience.
Somewhat recently, a combination of electrical stimulation and acupuncture has evolved. This technique differs from traditional acupuncture in that the needle itself is not the focus of treatment, instead, it serves as a conductor of electricity. One approach with electroacupuncture has been described as percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS). This PENS therapy utilizes acupuncture-like needle probes positioned in the soft tissue to stimulate peripheral sensory nerves at the dermatomal levels.
In the 1970s, Limoge, working in France, evolved an electroanesthesia electroanalgesia approach involving a different form of stimulation sometimes referred to as “Limoge currents” wherein, for example, a pulse cycle comprising pulses consisting of a positive wave for 2 μS is followed by a negative wave of 4 μS. The group has a period duration of 6 μS corresponding to 166 kHz. These groups have been referred to as bi-phasic balanced currents. They are gated on for four milliseconds followed by an off period of six milliseconds. The total cycle period thus is ten milliseconds corresponding to a 100 Hz gating cycle or burst frequency.
The integrals of the positive high frequency pulses and the negative high frequency pulses are maintained in balance. This results in a zero net applied current and eliminates or substantially abates a potential for electrophoresis. The current intensity generally will be from about 220 mA to about 250 mA peak to peak. In general, application of the current is by transcranial electrical stimulation (TCES) which is applied to the head through a frontal electrode and two posterior electrodes at the level of the mastoid bones. TCES treatment evidences no apparent side effects and has been used with very positive results in abdominal, urological gynecolgical and orthopedic surgery and traumatology and in addiction withdrawal therapy. TCES has been shown to enhance the potency of conventional pharmaceuticals during surgery and to evoke a reduction in the need for opiate analgesic during neuroleptanalgesia. Mathematical analysis of the Limoge currents indicates that the use of high frequency currents allow deep penetration of the electric field into the brain. It has been thought that the dielectric properties of biological tissue enables, in situ, the high frequency current combination with low frequency currents is responsible for the analgesic potentiaton. See the following publications:                Limoge, A., An introduction to electroanaesthsia. In: R. M. Johnson (Ed.), University Park Press, Baltimore, Md., 1975, pp. 1-121.        Limoge, A., Louville, Y., Barritault, L., Cazalaa, J. B. and Atinault, A., Electrical anesthesia. In: J. Spierdijk, S. A. Feldman, H. Mattie and T. H. Stanley (Eds.), Developments in Drug Used in Anesthesia, Leiden University Press, Leiden, 1981, pp. 121-134.        Limoge, A. and Boisgontier, M. T., Characteristic of electric currents used in human anesthesiology. In: B. Rybak (Ed.), Advanced Technology, Sijthoff and Noordhoff, German-town, 1979, pp. 437-446.        Champagne, Papiernak, Thierry, and Noviant, Transcutaneous Cranial Electrical Stimulation by Limoge Currents During Labor, Ann. Fr. Anesth. Reanim., Masson Paris, 1984.        Stanley, T. H., Cazalaa, J. A., Atinault, A., Coeytaux, R., Limoge, A. and Louville, Y., Transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation decreases narcotic requirements during neuroleptic anesthesia and operation in man, Anest. Analg., 61 (1982) 863-866.        Stanley, T. H., Cazalaa, J. A., Limoge, A. and Louville, Y., Transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation increases the potency of nitrous oxide in humans, Anesthesiology, 57 (1982) 293-297.        Ellison, F., Ellison, W., Daulouede, J. P., Daubech, F. E., Pautrizel, B., Bourgeois, M. and Tignol, J., Opiate withdrawal and electrostimulation double blind experiments, Encephale, 13 (1987) 225-229.        
In support of an expanded utilization of the Limoge currents in the control and management of pain and a variety of medical conditions, investigators and practitioners now find need for improved generation equipment with heightened capacities for investigation of variations of the Limoge current signatures or characteristics and for utilization of these variations and their effect for diagnostic applications to treatment as well as therapeutic purposes.